The Growth of Counter Strike: Complete 18 Year History (Infographic)

It has been almost 18 years since the first version of Counter Strike was launched by Valve and Sierra Studios. For those of you that are not too familiar with the topic — Counter Strike is a multiplayer FPS, played by tens of millions of players a month. It is essentially a game where two teams of players (terrorists and counter terrorists) fight each other in a closed map setting.

Back to our main story. Counter Strike started as a Half Life mod but quickly generated enough traction to become an independent game. And by “quickly” we actually mean 17 beta versions later quickly. Hundreds of sleepless nights and Mountain Dews later, the original Counter Strike was born, in the fall of 2000. The first version featured several maps that some of you may be familiar with (such as cs_assault, de_dust2 and de_inferno) and, compared to now, a modest arsenal of weapons and equipment.

Needless to say, Counter Strike of today is similar to its predecessors only by general game mechanics and gameplay. The rest has completely changed — the game has evolved into an online battle arena for all sorts of players, both casual and competitive. The number of professional tournaments has skyrocketed to over 2,000 per year and you can now even make a decent living professionally playing its latest version, Counter Strike Global Offensive.

What’s even more amazing is that this empire that Valve started 18 years ago, actually originated from one man’s dream to make something special. His name is Minh Lee and he is the guy responsible for developing the first beta version, literally from his college dorm room.

This infographic by Gamopo takes us through Counter Strike’s entire development journey. And what a ride it was.

About The Author

Nat B

Nat is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Uncoached Corporation and all its properties. He loves television, movies, fitness, playing piano, and writing articles worth reading.
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